Marine
Helicopter Squadron
One
55TH
A nniversary
HMX-1
17
August 2002
Crystal
Gateway Marriott
Hotel
Dinner
Menu
Bread
Service
Ceasar
Salad
Marinated
Portobella
Mushrooms
Chicken
Forestiere
Boneless
Breast with Wild Mushrooms &
topped with a Roasted Garlic Sauce
OR
Grilled
Twelve-Ounce Cut with Three-Peppercorn Sauce
HMX-1
Ceremonial Cake
Coffee
The
Squadron gives special thanks to the following guests and organizations
for
supporting the reunion.
-Sikorsky
-Rolls
Royce
-National
Chapter of the Navy League
-Honeywell
Corp.
-MCAF
-Bell/Boeing
-Doug
Holm
-MCCS
-Mike Leahey LtCol, USMC
(Ret)
-Al
Paul
-
Don House LtCol, USMC (Ret)
FORMER
COMMANDING OFFICERS
MARINE
HELICOPTER SQUADRON ONE
*
COL J. H. KING
NOV
1951 - JAN 1952
LTCOL E. V. FINN
JUN
1952 AUG 1953
LTCOL J. G. PERCY SEP
1953 AUG 1956
*LTCOL V. D. OLSON
AUG 1956 JUL 1959
*LTCOL V. A. ARMSTRONG
JUL
1959 APR 1961
LTCOL E. O. REED
APR 1961
AUG 1963
LTCOL W. SIENKO
AUG
1963 JUN 1966
COL D. H. FOSS
JUN
1966 NOV 1967
LTCOL E. F. SAMPLE
NOV
1967 JUN 1970
LTCOL R. A. KUCI
JUN
1970 JUN 1972
*LTCOL J. M. PERRYMAN,
JR. JUN
1972 JUL 1974
*LTCOL D. M. PIRNIE
JUL
1974 JUN 1977
*LTCOL F. E. MILLNER
JUN
1977 JUL 1979
*LTCOL R. H. MEYDAG
JUL
1979 JAN 1980
*LTCOL P. S.
*
*LTCOL R. E. PEASLEY
JUL 1985 JUL 1987
COL D. M. GLYNN
JUL
1987 JUL 1989
*
*
*
*
*
* In
attendance this evening
SEQUENCE OF
EVENTS
1730-1855
Photos
1800
Cocktails (Main Lobby)
1840
Presidents Own
Pre-dinner
Program
1845
15 min call
1850
Call to Seats
(Presidents Own)
1900
Escorts Position
Honors
March on the Colors
National Anthem
Post the Colors
Cake Cutting
Retire the Colors
POW/MIA Recognition
COs Comments
Presentations
Presidential Messages
Grace
Dinner/ Dessert
Guest of Honor
Ken Berger/ DJ
0100
Taps
HISTORY
On 1
December 1947, Marine Helicopter
Squadron One (HMX-1) was commissioned at Quantico, Virginia by HQMC to
pioneer
an entirely new concept in airborne warfare,
HMX-1 was to test and evaluate the concept of transporting
Marines to
the battle area by helicopter.
At
its inception HMX-1 consisted of eight
officers, one enlisted man and no aircraft.
None of these original members had ever flown in a helicopter.
On 9
February 1948 two H03S-1s arrived from
the Navy Helicopter Squadron at NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Later that month three additional helicopters
arrived from the Sikorsky Helicopter Plant.
With these five aircraft, HMX-1 made aviation history in May
1948,
during Operation PACKARD II, by conducting the first ship-to-shore
helicopter
lift in military history. Although small
by today's standards (66 troops), this initial troop movement proved to
be the
advent of a new era in Marine Corps assault tactics.
August
of 1948 saw the arrival of two new
helicopters at HMX-1: the small HTL-1 built by Bell Helicopter, and the
world's
first tandem rotored helicopter, the Piasecki HRP-1, at that time the
world's
largest helicopter. The HRP-1 nicknamed
"The Flying Banana," became the workhorse for further developments in
troop assault and cargo delivery tactics.
In July 1950 the
late General, then
Lieutenant Colonel Keith B. McCutcheon, assumed command of the squadron. He inherited an experiment which was to have
considerable effect on operations and tactics in Vietnam- the firing of
pilot
controlled 2.36 inch rockets from the side of a helicopter. Helicopter aerial bomb delivery was also
evaluated when the HRP-1 was used to drop externally carried ordnance
from
altitudes as high as 8,000 feet.
With
the outbreak of hostilities in Korea,
the first transport helicopter squadron, HMR-161 was formed at MCAS El
Toro,
California in January 1951. Eight HMX-1
officers were detached to proceed to California for duty in the Pacific. Among them was Captain, later Major General
Victor A. Armstrong, who would return in 1959 as Commanding Officer of
HMX-1
and become the Marine Corps' second Presidential Helicopter Pilot.
During
the 1950s, tactics as well as new
equipment were continuously being reviewed and evaluated by the Marines
of
HMX-1. The evaluation of two new
helicopters during this period marked the beginning of a new
all-weather phase
of Marine Corps helicopter operation.
The CH-37 and UH-34 both served the Corps throughout the late
50's and
early 60's and provided vital support to the fleet during initial
engagements
in the Republic of Vietnam. During this period the development of new
equipment
progressed and had a significant impact on Marine Corps operations in
Vietnam.
In
May 1990 he reported to HMH-464 as the
Executive Officer and he assumed the duty of Commanding Officer in
December
1993. During February and March 1995, he
deployed to Central Norway as the Aviation Combat Element Commander for
Π
MEF (Forward) in support of Exercise Strong Resolve 95.
He relinquished command of HMH-464 in June
1995 and was selected to attend the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode
Island.
In
August 1995 he reported to the Naval War
College. He graduated with distinction
and earned a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic
Studies. He was subsequently assigned to
the Joint Staff, J-7, Joint Doctrine Division. In July 1997 he was
assigned as
the Executive Officer to the Vice Director, J-7. In
July 1998 he was assigned to the Staff of
the Chief of Naval Operations as the Head of
the Amphibious Aviation Section.
In July 2000 he assumed duty as special programs officer at
HMX-1. In June 2001 he assumed his present
duty as
Commanding Officer of HMX-1.
His
personal decorations include the
Defense Superior Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with two
gold
stars, the Air Medal with numeral 1, the Joint Service Commendation
Medal, and
the Navy Commendation medal with gold star.
Additionally, he wears the Presidential Service Badge and the
Joint
Staff Service Badge.
Colonel Taylor is married to the
former
Suzette Brown of Jacksonville, North Carolina.
They have two children, Paul and Diane and currently reside in
Quantico,
Virginia.
COLONEL STEPHEN P. TAYLOR
A
native of South Bend, Indiana, Colonel
Taylor, earned a B. A. in Political Science from North Central College
in
1975. He attended Officers Candidiate
School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in August 1975. After completing The Basic School, he
reported to Pensacola, Florida for Flight Training.
Designated a Naval Aviator in March 1977, he
was assigned to HMT-204 for initial training in the CH-53D helicopter. He was subsequently assigned to HMH-461,
Marine Corps Air Station New River, Jacksonville, North Carolina. In addition to duties as a squadron pilot, he
served in the logistics and NATOPS departments and was designated and
aircraft
commander in the CH-53D. While assigned
to HMH-461, he participated in several exercises in the Caribbean and
North
Atlantic.
After
attending the Marine Weapons and
Tactics Instructor Course in 1979 he was assigned to HMM-261 where he
was the
NATOPS Officer and Squadron Weapons and Tactics Instructor. He deployed to the Mediterranean with
HMM-261, returning to New River in February 1980. He
was transferred to HMT-204 for duty as an
instructor pilot in the CH-53D. While
there, he had billets in the logistics and aircraft maintance
departments.
In
1982 he was selected to attend Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico,
Virginia. Upon graduation in May 1983,
he was assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One.
While assigned to HMX-1, he qualified as
aircraft commander in the VH-3D, VH-1N, UH-1N, CH-46E, and CH-53D. He held billets in the aircraft maintenance
department, the operations department, and the plans department. In 1985 he was designated a Presidential
Command Pilot and subsequently served as Officer in Charge of several
detachments in support of Presidential travel.
In January 1988 he reported
for duty as Air Operations Officer aboard USS GUAM (LPH-9), home ported
in
Norfolk, Virginia. He deployed with Guam
in August 1988 to the Mediterrean, returning to Norfolk in February
1989. In February 1990 he detached from
Guam and
underwent conversion training in the CH-53E.
After the
initial ordnance experiments with the HLT-2 and the HRP-1, projects
included
firing many types of weapons including the Bullpup Missile. Among the
more significant development was the armament kit used on the UH-34 "Stinger," the only Marine Corps helicopter gunship in Vietnam until the introduction of the UH-IE (HUEY).
September
1957 marked the beginning of a mission which made Marine
Helicopter
Squadron One truly unique.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, while vacationing in Newport, Rhode
Island, had
to return to the Capitol. He made his
return trip by means of a UH-34, marking the first time that a
President of the
United States had ever flown in a Marine Corps helicopter. President
Eisenhower
found the helicopter to be a timely, fast and safe means of
transportation for
short trips. Thereafter, HMX-1 assumed the important and prestigious
responsibility of transporting the President and became "The Squadron
of
the President."
The
helicopter's ability to swiftly transport the President and his staff
from the
center of
Washington eliminated the time consuming delays and the security risks
inherent in
ground travel. The Squadron's proven record of safety and reliability
has
enabled it to provide continual service to the President and his staff,
the
Vice President and visiting foreign heads of state.
As the
executive mission became established a special model of the UH-34, the
VH-34 was
adopted for use. Essentially, the same as the UH-34, the VH model was
also
equipped with a VIP passenger interior, more complex instrumentation and
emergency
flotation devices. The Spring of 1962 saw the arrival of the HSS-2 later
designated
the VH-3, an executive version of the United States Navy SH-3
helicopter. Equipped with sound proofing
and air
conditioning, plus navigational and communications equipment, the VH-3
provided
the Presidential mission with
increased
safety, reliability, comfort, speed, and range.
In 1971 HMX-1
Marines participated in the evaluation of the LOH (Light
Observation
Helicopter). The OH-58A and OH-61 were subjected to more than 1,000
hours of
flight during a three month period.
Other evaluations which have been completed in recent years
include
instrument approach systems, a fog dispersal system, remote area
approach
landing system (MRAALS), the CH-46E SR&M Operational Evaluation,
the CH-53E
Follow-on Test and Evaluation, and external lift certification flights
for FMP
weapons and heavy equipment. HMX-1
most recently
completed the Operational Test and Evaluation of the MV-22 Osprey.
HMX-1
currently operates the VH-3D and VH-60N in support of the President.
Additionally,
the Squadron operates the CH-53E and the CH-46E helicopters to
provide
helicopter support for the White House, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps
and the
Marine Corps Combat Development Command. Operational Test and
Evaluation
Support for Marine Corps helicopters and related systems is provided to
the
Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force thus perpetuating the
original
mission of the Squadron and maintaining the "X" in HMX-1.
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General
Williams was born in Baltimore, MD and enlisted in the Navy in 1960. He
was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from the U.S.
Naval Academy in June 1967 and subsequently completed Naval Flight
Training and was designated a Naval Aviator. |
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